Fleece Fabric Poncho

                          

The poncho is made from two rectangles. To size the poncho, measure the recipient's arm from the neck, over the shoulder, down to the hand (however far down you would like it to fall, including the fringe). This will be the dimension of the rectangle which lies along the length of the fleece. For the crosswise dimension, add about 8". Make sure the long edge goes on the crosswise grain - it will provide the stretch needed to get the poncho over the wearer's head. Cut two rectangles.

The pink poncho is made from rectangles 17" x 25", including a 2" fringe. (Her height is 108 cm/42.5 inches.) The tiger-striped poncho is 21" x 29", including a 2½" fringe. (Her height is 121 cm/48 inches.) The purple one I'm using to illustrate the pattern is 16" x 24" - it's being made for a 4-year-old girl.

Sew the short side of one rectangle to the long side of the other rectangle, right sides together, with a 1/2" seam allowance. Be sure to start the depth of the fringe up from the bottom, and stop 1/2" from the neck edge.


Take the short side of the rectangle whose long side you just seamed (the side marked A above), and place it right sides together with the long side of the rectangle whose short side you just seamed (marked B above), and sew a 1/2" seam.


Once they are seamed together, turn the seam allowances toward the long edge. Continue turning under along the neck edge, and shape the neck slightly by folding it under in a bit of a curve, like this.


Topstitch through the seam allowances from the right side and along the neck edge until you meet the adjoining seam- I used a decorative stitch for this step.


Mark your fringe along the bottom edges, 1/2" wide and whatever depth you like. (I used 2" on the pink poncho and 2 1/2" on the orange one.) I found it easier to just cut them with scissors (rather than using my rotary cutter), using the lines on my cutting mat as a guide to keep the scissors straight.

Once the fringe is cut, you're done!